From 'Allora' to 'Boh' ... Essential Filler Words in Italian (Part 1)

Every language has a handful of filler words that not only fill the gaps in communication but also are used to show a diverse range of emotion from confusion to amazement. You might hear French speakers using Alors /alɔʀ/ a lot whenever they are steering a conversation or thinking before speaking. The same applies to English as well when speakers use either filler sounds such as "ah" or "um" or filler words like "so" or "you know"!

Naturally, Italian is no exception in that regard, and I would go as far as to say that knowing them is as important as Italian hand gestures 🤌, if not more! To see how important they are and how useful it would be to learn these fillers, just listen to Italian speakers or simply open a YouTube video of them to notice the impact of parole riempitive on their speech!

Parole riempitive

Allora ... 🙄

Don't be frugal with allora /a'lːora/ as it's an indispensable part of everyday conversation! Use it as much as you want whether you're wondering what to order at a bar, or looking for your wallet or just asking a passerby about time! It's pretty much the same as allors in French or entonces in Spanish.

Suppose you are wondering what to do next so you ask your friends:

Allora, cosa facciamo?

or you're trying to answer a prompt in your CILS or CELI speaking parts:

Allora... secondo me è una questione di abitudine.

Well, in my opinion it's a matter of habit

"E allora?" is a useful variation of this word that, depending on the context, can mean "Now what?", "And?" or "So" often used to prompt further explanation or express frustration.

Boh /bo/ 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

The equivalent of shrugging your shoulders! "I have no idea!", "Beats me", "Dunno" or even "How am I supposed to know that?" without saying a word! To be honest, "boh" is my least favorite Italian filler of all! Maybe it's the attitude behind it or perhaps it has something to do with the combination of /b/, /o/ and /h/ which sounds harsh to my ears!

Mind you! I would not recommend saying "boh" to your examiner as it may be perceived as rude.

Boh!

Mah/maː/🤔

"Mah" is similar to "boh" in the sense that it expresses uncertainty yet it doesn't carry that sense of indifference and total lack of care that "boh" conveys! "Hmm" and "I don't know" would be good translations for this filler.

Tipo/ˈtiːpo/ 👀

Tipo functions the same as "like", "kind of" or "sort of" in English or "genre" in French in! It's a savior when one cannot exactly come up with the word one's looking for!

As for the speaking part of the exam, you can use it in many occasions. For example, in CELI C1, while describing a picture and you're not sure what it is or what the word for it is you ought to use this word:

C'è tipo un cane che corre vicino alla spiaggia.

There's, like, a dog running near the beach.

or

La scena sembra tipo una giornata di primavera.

The picture looks like a spring day.

So, next time you’re chatting with an Italian speaker and you hear one of these fillers, you’ll know exactly what’s going on! Whether you're trying to explain something, give an example, express confusion or just need a moment to think, fillers are here to help you along. Now, go ahead and add these precious little gems to your Italian vocabulary to sound more Italian in no time!